Related Links

News

US electricity from wind energy exceeds share from petroleum or biomass

26 January 2010

Wind energy generated 55.4 TWh of electricity in 2008, an increase of 60.7% from the 34.5 TWh in 2007, according to federal data.

While electricity generation from the primary fuel sources decreased in 2008 (coal by 1.5%, natural gas by 1.5%, and nuclear by 0.03%), generation from all renewable sources increased, with the exception of wood and wood derived fuels.

For the first time, power generation from wind energy constituted a larger share of total electricity than from petroleum or from wood and wood-derived fuels, notes Electric Power Industry 2008: Year in Review released by the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration. Output from wood and wood-derived fuels dropped in 2008, as did generation from coal (down 1.5%), natural gas (-1.5%) and nuclear (-0.03%).

Twenty-four of the US states have Renewable Portfolio Standards in place, and five other states have non-binding goals for renewable energy. Several recent pieces of federal legislation also offer substantial financial incentives for generation of electricity from wind and other renewable energy technologies.

In 2008, generation was adversely affected by the weak economy in the United States, with annual net generation dropping for the first time since 2001, down 0.9% to 4,119 TWh in 2008. Summer peak load fell by 3.8% while winter peak load increased by the same percentage to 643,557 MW.

The generation share of conventional hydroelectric power was up slightly in 2008, but the general trend is one of decline, the report notes. In 2008, generation from conventional hydroelectric plants accounted for 6.2% of total net generation, compared with 10.2% in 1997. Excluding conventional hydroelectric, renewable energy sources contributed 3.1% of total net electric generation in 2008, up from 2.5% in 2007.

“This marks the fifth consecutive year in which this (renewable energy) category’s share of total net generation has increased, and the first time it crossed the 3% threshold,” it notes. “The largest portion of this increase comes from wind generation, which increased from 0.8% to 1.3% of total net electric generation.”

Net generation from renewable energy sources (excluding conventional hydroelectric) increased 19.9% in 2008, following an increase of 9% in 2007. More new wind energy capacity came online in 2008 than in the prior two years combined.

The top five wind-generating states in 2008 were Texas, California, Minnesota, Iowa and Washington. Texas, where wind generation was up 80.2%, was the largest source of wind energy with three times the output of second-place California. Nationally, wind generation increased 60.7% from its 2007 level and 72.6% of the national increase was installed in Texas, Colorado, Minnesota, Illinois, Oregon and Iowa.

Wood and wood-derived fuels, representing 0.9% of total net generation, accounted for 37 TWh, down 4.4% from 2007. Geothermal power plants supplied 15m MWh while generation from solar thermal and solar electric sources was up 41.2% from 2007, at 864,000 MWh.

Nuclear and coal-fired plants have the highest average capacity factors at 91.1% and 72.2% respectively, while the composite capacity factor for wind and all other renewable energy resources (other than hydroelectric) had a 37.3% capacity factor in 2008, a “significant decrease” from the 59.1% achieved in 2000 when the category was dominated by biomass which is a dispatchable sources. “The continuous decline in the average capacity factor for all non-hydroelectric renewable resources is consistent with the significant growth of wind capacity relative to other forms of renewable electricity generation,” the report explains.

Share this article

Comments

rogerroster said

27 January 2010
Wind energy is an economical alternative energy source for power generation. Renewable energy will have a significant market share in the world energy market. The United States has set a target of 10 per cent Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) by 2012. Hence it is investing in solar and wind power projects. Pacific Crest Transformers is a transformer company that manufactures liquid-filled distribution transformers and works closely with the wind energy market. It has whitepapers and articles on the renewable energy sector and more. http://www.pacificcresttrans.com/home.html

Note: The majority of comments posted are created by members of the
public. The views expressed are theirs and unless specifically stated are not those
Elsevier Ltd. We are not responsible for any content posted by members of the public
or content of any third party sites that are accessible through this site. Any links
to third party websites from this website do not amount to any endorsement of that
site by the Elsevier Ltd and any use of that site by you is at your own risk. For
further information, please refer to our Terms & Conditions.

Comment on this article

You must be registered and logged in to leave a comment
about this article.

Members' Login

Our website uses cookies. Cookies enable us to provide the best experience possible and help us understand how customers
use our website.Our site won't work without them. By continuing to use our website you accept our use of cookies.
Find out more about cookies×